International law researcher Dirgham Saif expressed his conviction that the International Court of Justice will comply with South Africa’s request and impose relevant orders on Israel, based on the legal precedents before it, especially in the Myanmar case with the Rohingya and the cases of Ukraine and Bosnia.
He explained – in a statement to Tel Aviv Tribune – that the first stage in the court is the stage of issuing temporary orders, and the maximum for the court is for Israel to order a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
However, the researcher in international law suggested that the temporary orders issued by the International Court of Justice would be “less severe than the issue of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” as South Africa requested in its plea. It is not unlikely that the court’s decision would be to prevent harm to civilians and civilian facilities in Gaza.
In the worst case – according to the same source – the court acknowledges that it does not have the legal authority to consider the case, given the appeals raised by Israel, which says that the case has never been a real dispute between South Africa and Israel, which is one of the foundations for the dispute before the International Court of Justice.
According to the researcher in international law, before going to the International Court of Justice, there must be talks between the conflicting parties, and if a solution is not reached, the court must be resorted to. He said that South Africa went directly to the court regarding the Gaza issue.
He added that, as jurists, they believe that the International Court of Justice will acknowledge its authority to consider the case based on the judicial precedents before it.
It is worth noting that yesterday, Thursday, witnessed the start of trial sessions on charges of committing genocide in Gaza, brought by South Africa, and the 84-page lawsuit indicates that Israel failed to provide basic food, water, medicine, and fuel, and to provide shelters and other humanitarian assistance to the residents of the Strip.
In his plea before the court – today, Friday – the legal advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tal Baker, said in response to South Africa’s accusations that Israel committed genocide in its war on Gaza, “The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) seeks genocide against Israel.”